Radiator hanger



Jan. 11, 1966 R. H. SAND 3,228,644

RADIATOR HANGER Filed Nov. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. floss/ 76. 52M

Z/M ,zz gap ATTORNEY) Jan. 11, 1966 R. H. SAND RADIATOR HANGER FiledNov. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I United States Patent 3,228,644 RADIATORHANGER Robert H. Sand, Canton, Conn., assignor to The Vulcan RadiatorCompany, Hartford, Conn, a corporation of Ionnecticut Filed Nov. 8,1962, Ser. No. 236,241 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-233) This invention relates toa supporting structure for radiators and more particularly to a hangerfor finned tube radiators of the type commonly hung on a verticalsupport such as the wall of a room.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a radiator hangerwhich will permit rapid and efficient installation of finned tuberadiators on a vertical supporting surface and which will permitexpansion and contraction thereof upon heating and cooling withoutapplying strain upon the hanger.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hanger for finnedtube radiators adapted to accommodate the expansion and contractionthereof on heating and cooling without danger of injuring or damagingthe fins and without the usual noises accompanying such expansion andcontraction.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a hanger which issimple and inexpensive to manufacture and which can be installed with aminimum of labor.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a radiatorhanger adapted to accommodate movement of the finned tube element causedby expansion and contraction thereof upon heating and cooling, through asliding movement of the hanger rather than a rocking movement.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a hanger which maybe adjusted after the finned tube element has been installed thereon toprovide the desired pitch of the element.

Further objects of the invention are to provide such a hanger which islight in weight, strong in construction, adaptable for receivingdifferent sizes of finned elements and which will also be out of sightafter installation of the radiator cover.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent from the following description and accompanyingdrawings, which show preferred embodiments of the invention, and suchembodiments will be described; but it will be understood that variouschanges and modifications may be made from the construction disclosed,and that the drawings and description are not to be construed asdefining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming apart of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

FIG. 1 is a view in vertical section of a radiator enclosure showing thehanger of the present invention in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is an elevational front view of a portion of the radiator unitwith the cover and radiator element removed showing the hanger in frontelevation;

FIG. 3 is an elevational front view of a portion of the back panel ofthe radiator enclosure with the hanger bar removed;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2illustrating one form of the hanging means for the sliding cradle;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating a modified form ofmy improved hanger;

' FIG. 6 is an elevational view of said modified form with the radiatorenclosure and radiator element removed therefrom;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of said modified form, partly in section,taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 88 of FIG. 6showing the hanging means for the modified form of my invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the fastening nut used with the modifiedform of the hanger shown in FIGS. 5 through 8; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the fastening bolt used with both formsof my hanger shown.

In the form of my invention shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings,an enclosure for a Wall mounted, finned tube radiator is indicatedgenerally by the numeral 10 and includes a removable front cover 12 anda wall panel 14. The wall panel is adapted to be mounted against thesurface of the wall of a room and is formed with a forwardly projecting,longitudinally extending, V-shaped bead 16 as shown. A plurality ofspaced, T- shaped openings 18 are provided in the bead with their upperor horizontal portions in the upper side of the said bead above the apex20 thereof, whereby to form supporting side portions 22, 22 in the lowerside of the bead 16.

The supporting members for the finned tube element of the radiator uniteach include a hanger bar 24 which is provided with a T-shaped upper endportion 26. The upper end portion is adapted to be inserted into andreceived by one of the T-shaped openings 18 whereby lateral projections28, 28 formed on the end portion 26 will rest upon the back surfaces ofthe supporting side portions 22, 22 as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thelower edges of the openings 18 are located on the wall panel 14 topermit the upper rear surfaces of the hanger bar 24, when in operativeposition, to rest against the lower front surface of the panel 14, andalso to permit the lower rear surface of the bar to rest against thesurface of the wall upon which the wall panel has been mounted.

In accordance with the present invention, a hanger clip 30 isnonrotatably mounted upon the hanger bar for vertical adjustment thereonby a bolt 32 which extends through a longitudinal slot 34 in the bar. Aconventional nut 35, threaded to the bolt, retains the clip in itsadjusted position. The bolt 32 is formed with a countersunk head 37 andwith side flats 378 as shown in FIG. 10, whereby it may be nonrotatablyreceived within the slot 34 with the head flush with the rear surface ofthe bar to permit substantially flush mounting of the hanger bar againstthe wall.

The lower portion of the clip 30 extends downwardly and outwardly andterminates in a reverse bend as at 38, similarly to a hook, to provide ahorizontal flange 39 to support a cradle member 40 for horizontalsliding movement thereon. The cradle 40 is preferably made from a singlepiece of sheet metal formed to provide a back panel 42 and opposed,forwardly extending side panels 44, 44. The upper edge portion of theback panel is bent outwardly, similariy to a hook, to form a flange 46adapted to be received by the clip 36 on the flange 39 for slidingmovement thereon with respect to the bar 24. The hanger bar 24 isprovided at its lower end with a forwardly projecting arm 54 whichsupports the lower edge of the cover 12 in a conventional manner.

As shown in FIG. 1, a finned radiator element 48 of conventional form,comprising a tubular conductor 49 having a plurality of spaced fins 50,is received in aligned, V-shaped recesses 52, 52 formed in the sides 44,44 of the cradle. The sides 44, 44 are adapted to fit between the spacedfins and the recesses 52, 52 therein are designed to receive tubularconductors of varying diameters.

In the installation of a radiator unit embodying the present invention,the wall panel 14 is secured to the wall at the desired height by screwswhich are driven through the panel into the wall. The desired number ofhanger bars 24, each having a hanger clip nonrotatably secured theretofor adjustment within the slot 34, are suspended from the wall panel 14by inserting the upper T-shaped ends thereof into the T-shaped openings18 so that the lateral projections 28, 28 thereon rest upon the backs ofthe supporting portions 22, 22 in the lower side of the V-shaped bead.The hanger bar may then be swung downwardly into position against thefront surface of the wall panel 14 and against the wall. Preferably, thehanger bar is then also screwed directly to the wall to provideadditional support for the finned element carried thereby and rigidityfor the cover 12 secured at its lower edge to the arm 54 of the hangerbar by a screw 54 as shown.

After the bar 24 has been positioned against the wall, the cradle 40 ismounted on the clip 30 by rotating the flange 46 into engagement withthe reverse bend portion 38 and upon the flange 39, as shown. Afterpositioning the cradle on the clip, the radiator element may be mountedthereon, in a conventional manner, with the side panels 44, 44 extendingforwardly between the fins 50 and with the tubular conductor 49 disposedwithin the V-shaped recesses therein.

In the form of my invention shown in FIGS. through 10, the cradle 40-bof the hanger assembly is provided with a transverse slot 56 in the backpanel 42b thereof to permit the cradle to be mounted upon the hanger barfor horizontal movement to accommodate lengthwise expansion andcontraction of the radiator element 48 carried thereby. Afterpositioning the cradle on the hanger bar with the bolt 32 nonrotatablydisposed in the longitudinal slot 34 and extending through thetransverse slot 56, a nut 53 is threaded to the bolt to secure thecradle in adjusted position thereon. It can be seen from FIG. 6 of thedrawing that with the cradle so disposed, the axes of the longitudinalslot 34 and the transverse slot 56 extend substantially at right anglesto each other.

As the cradle must be freely moveable horizontally and yet be retainedin a fixed, vertical position on the bar 24, the nut 53 is provided witha reduced, inner terminal portion 60 of cylindrical configurationforming an axially extending annular bearing surface 62 thereonterminating in a shoulder 64 as shown in FIG. 9. The reduced portion isformed with an outside diameter greater than the width of the slot 34whereby the bolt 32 will be securely retained in its adjusted positionin the slot 34 with the inner face of the reduced portion bearingagainst the front surface of the bar 24. The diameter of the reducedportion, however, is less than the width of the slot 56, therebypermitting the cradle to slide horizontally on the bearing surface 62between the shoulder 64 and the bar 24. It can be seen that the nut 58,therefore, provides a bearing surface adapted for vertical adjustmentwithin the slot 34 upon which the cradle 40-h is adjustably mounted uponthe bar 24 for generally horizontal sliding movement to accommodateexpansion and contraction of the finned radiator element supportedthereon.

It is obvious that in both forms of the present invention the cradle isadapted for lateral, sliding movement relative to the hanger bar wherebythe finned tube radiator element carried by the cradle may expand andcontract upon heating and cooling without ranger of bending or otherwisedamaging the fragile fins, and without the usual noises commonlyassociated with such expansion and contraction. Either form of theinvention also permits vertical adjustment of the cradle after theelement has been mounted thereon whereby the most eflicient pitch forthe element may be obtained to insure maximum operating efficiency ofthe radiator. Merely loosening the nut 36 or the nut 58, as the case maybe, permits the cradle to be adjusted vertically within the slot 34. Asin either case, the nut is readily accessable when the tubular elementis disposed within the recess 52, such adjustment may be made quickly,easily and accurately.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a radiator unit, including a radiator element, and an enclosuretherefor having a wall panel adapted to be secured to a wall, means forsupporting a radiator element including said wall panel, a hanger bar,cooperative means on said Wall panel and said hanger bar connecting saidbar to said wall panel, a cradle having a back panel and a pair ofspaced side members extending from said back panel and adapted tosupport the radiator element, said back panel being disposed between theside panels, and securing means for adjustably supporting the cradlefrom the hanger bar, said securing means including a first supportingsurface carried by and vertically adjustable on said hanger bar and asecond supporting surface on said cradle cooperative with the firstsupporting surface and permitting horizontal movement of the cradlerelative to the bar whereby the cradle may accommodate horizontalmovement of the radiator element occasioned by expansion and.contraction thereof.

2. In a radiator unit, means for supporting a radiator element includinga wall panel mountable upon a vertical wall, an elongated hanger barhaving an elongated longitudinal opening therein, cooperative means onsaid wall panel and said hanger bar suspending the bar from the panel,said bar being adapted to be mounted adjacent to a wall of a room,mounting means having a supporting surface thereon carried by said bar,said mounting means including an elongated member extending through thesaid opening permitting vertical adjustment of said mounting means onthe bar, and an element supporting member having a back panel provide-dwith means thereon cooperative w-ith said mounting means for suspendingsaid member from the hanger bar permitting horizontal sliding movementof said element supporting member relative to the bar whereby it mayslidably accommodate movement of a radiator element occasioned byexpansion and contraction thereof.

3. In a radiator unit, means for supporting a radiator element includingan elongated hanger bar having a longitudinally extending openingtherein, clip means adapted for vertical adjustment on said barincluding a rearwardly extending flange formed thereon, securing meansextending through the opening in the bar to secure the clip means inadjusted position thereon, a cradle having a back panel and forwardlyextending supporting members thereon for receiving and supporting theradiator element, said back panel being formed with a horizontal flangeon its upper edge portion received by said rearwardly extending flangeon the clip for horizontal sliding movement thereon permittinghorizontal sliding movement of said cradle relative to the bar wherebyit may slidably accommodate movement of a radiator element occasioned byexpansion and contraction thereof upon heating and cooling.

4. In a radiator unit, means for supporting a radiator element includingan elongated hanger bar having a longitudinally extending slot therein,a cradle having a back panel and forwardly extending supporting membersthereon for receiving and supporting a radiator element, said back panelbeing formed with a forwardly extending flange on its upper edgeportion, clip means adapted for vertical adjustment on said barincluding a rearwardly extending flange on the lower edge portionthereof for receiving the first mentioned flange to permit generallyhorizontal sliding movement of said cradle on said clip means toaccommodate movement of a radiator element caused by expansion andcontraction upon heating and cooling, and fastening means extendingthrough said slot in said bar to secure said clip means in verticaladjustment thereto.

5. In a radiator unit, means for supporting a radiator element includingan elongated hanger bar having a longitudinally extending elongatedopening therein and adapted to be supported adjacent to the wall of aroom, an element supporting member including a back panel and forwardlyextending spaced supporting members formed to receive a radiatorelement, said back panel being disposed between said supporting membersand formed with a transversely extending elongated opening therein, saidelement supporting member being adapted to be adjustably positioned onsaid hanger bar with said openings extending substantially normal toeach other, the width of the transverse opening being greater than thatof the longitudinal opening and fastening means extending through saidlongitudinal and transverse openings to mount said element supportingmember in adjusted position upon said bar, said fastening meanscomprising an elongated threaded member adapted to receive an internallythreaded not formed with an annular bearing surface on a face thereofengageable with said transverse opening in the back panel to permithorizontal sliding movement of the element supporting member thereonrelative to the bar and wall to accommodate movement 6 of the radiatorelement occasioned by expansion and contraction thereof.

6. Means for supporting a radiator element as set forth in claim 5wherein the threaded member is formed with side flats whereby it isnonrotatably received by said longitudinal opening for vertical slidingadjustment therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,311,908 8/1919Murdock 248233 2,501,147 3/1950 Tolan 248-232 X 2,578,993 12/1951 Downs248232 2,662,747 12/1953 Trane et al 16555 3,003,732 10/1961 Sand 248232X FOREIGN PATENTS 77,351 5/1933 Sweden.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

4. IN A RADIATOR UNIT, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A RADIATOR ELEMENT INCLUDINGAN ELONGATED HANGER BAR HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOT THEREIN,A CRADLE HAVING A BACK PANEL AND FORWARDLY EXTENDING SUPPORTING MEMBERSTHEREON FOR RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING A RADIATOR ELEMENT, SAID BACK PANELBEING FORMED WITH A FORWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE ON ITS UPPER EDGEPORTION, CLIP MEANS ADAPTED FOR VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT ON SAID BARINCLUDING A REARWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE ON THE LOWER EDGE PORTIONTHEREOF FOR RECEIVING THE FIRST MENTIONED FLANGE TO PERMIT GENERALLYHORIZONTAL SLIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID CRADLE ON SAID CLIP MEANS TOACCOMMODATE MOVEMENT OF A RADIATOR ELEMENT CAUSED BY EXPANSION ANDCONTRACTION UPON HEATING AND COOLING , AND FASTENING MEANS EXTENDINGTHROUGH SAID SLOT IN SAID BAR TO SECURE SAID CLIP MEANS IN VERTICALADJUSTMENT THERETO.